The Art of Figures

I’m a huge fan of figures, though I don’t have as much time to practice them as I used to. I’m sad that they are no longer used for testing purposes. It also is very evident that I’m not the only one that feels this way. So I created this spot on the web for links, videos, info, and other information about the art of figures. Please contact me if you have a link that you want to see included here.

COMPETITIONS & WORKSHOPS
There is an All-Figures Open Competition August 25, 2012 at the Sherwood Ice Arena in Sherwood, Oregon. This competition is open to all skaters — younger and older, professional and amateur. All Figures will be a separate event. We also hope to have a Creative Figure event. Time to start getting out those scribes and start practicing!!!. Break out your scribes and start practicing!

The Walla Walla FSC in Washington hosted a Free School Figures Workshop on September 18, 2010 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Hopefully there will be others.

WHERE TO GET BOOTS, BLADES, AND SCRIBES
There is still equipment out there. The best boots for figures are an old, broken down pair of freestyle boots. So don’t sell or give away those boots! Scribes can be found on ebay, and occasionally in some of the older skate shops. Figure blades are still stocked by some of the old skate shops around the country who couldn’t give themselves to throw them away, so call a few of them and ask is they still have figure blades. You can also buy freestyle blades and have the bottom toepicks shaved off, and have the edges sharpened for figures.

But ahhhh, the sharpening. That will be tricky, Finding the old guys who know how to sharpen figure blades properly is a tough find. Ask some of the older coaches and skaters who they recommend. It is a very different sharpening from a freestyle blade.

WHERE TO FIND PATCH ICE
Ask your rink. Many rinks won’t mind letting you do patch on emptier sessions as long as the other skaters don’t mind. Many times the coaches who are teaching young kids like having patch skaters around to show the kids how it used to be done! Sometimes you’ll have to do very early sessions, like 5 am.

Some rinks still offer patch classes. Here are a few I know of, and I hope to see this list grow:

4) Culver City Ice Arena, Culver City, CA
Culver City offers a Patch session Monday through Friday from 7:45-8:30 AM. The Session is now a Patch and MITF Session. They divide the ice into two pieces the size depends on how many people show up to do Patch.

6) The Robert Crown Center, Evanston, IL
Robert Crown is offering a Patch class twice a week for summer of 2011 on their studio rink! Wednesday and Friday morning practice from 6:00 to 7:00 am, with class on Thursdays at 11:15 to 11:45 am from June 9 to August 11, 2011. Here’s the link to the website with class information and the wiki with patch times.

WHERE TO FIND A TEST SESSION
Ready to test figures? Terrific! Sadly, test sessions for figures are hard to come by. Just ask your test chair when you are ready for a test to please arrange it for you. Many judges are thrilled to have an opportunity to judge a figures test, so have your test chair ask. Additionally, the figures competition mentioned earlier in Portland, Oregon, has a test session after the event, and Lake Placid has been known to still have them on occasion.

the podcast for figure skating fans

There are many interesting characters, both famous and obscure, who make this wonderful sport tick, and their voices tell the story of skating best. I decided to combine my love of skating and technology to create this podcast series, and provide lengthy interviews of skating legends to the fans. I hope you enjoy listening to the results.